Wattsense raises 730k€ in first equity funding round

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Florence BAUDRY

May 07, 2018

The early stage startup Wattsense, which aims to open the building management software market to all developers, has just finalized the first fundraising of 730k€ to finance the development and launch of its solution.

Founded in October 2017 by Louis VERMOREL, WATTSENSE (8 employees) develops an IT solution that will enable the remote control of building management systems in commercial, institutional and industrial applications.

This solution consists of two elements: firstly, a self-configurable electronic module, compatible with all building equipment protocols (heating, air conditioning, lighting, etc.), which is installed on site; secondly, a “cloud” platform that allows remote harvesting of data and the loading of building control optimization applications.

To equip test sites with its first-generation solution, to finalize it and to organize the commercial launch in early 2019, WATTSENSE welcomes new shareholders.

WATTSENSE PARTICIPATIONS brings together “love money” shareholders, family and friends; it brings in € 485,000 and gives itself 22% of the capital.ELECTRA-INVEST brings together 5 business angels; it brings 245 000 € and takes 11% of the capital.Louis VERMOREL retains 67% of the capital.

On this occasion, Michel ANDRAUD, representing the partners of WATTSENSE PARTICIPATIONS, and Edouard LAMELOISE, representing the partners of ELECTRA-INVEST, enter the Orientation Committee of WATTSENSE.

Edouard LAMELOISE, hotel owner in the Lyon region, explains his choice: “As a manager of hotel structures, I know the weight of energy consumption on my margins. The WATTSENSE solution can be decisive for the profitability of my sector. I believe strongly in the potential of this solution, not only in terms of consumption, but also to increase the duration of use of climate equipment. “.

Louis VERMOREL states: “We want to introduce the digital revolution in the technical management of buildings. It will reduce global energy consumption and promote the development of renewable energies through demand response solutions. I am very happy that a professional in the sector is already giving us his trust. “.

About WATTSENSE

WATTSENSE is developing a connected solution that universalizes the IT and electronics infrastructure of commercial, institutional and industrial buildings. This solution will enable software developers to create optimization applications from a plug & play programming interface. This will solve the equipment compatibility problems and divide by ten the installation cost of the BMS (Building Management System).

Buildings consume 9% of the world’s energy. Deployment at scale of optimization applications should ultimately reduce by approximately 30% this energy bill.

By first introducing the digital revolution in the climate systems of any brand and any generation, by equipping them with a universal communication module, by making them communicate with a large number of optimization applications, WATTSENSE will allow to reduce the overall energy consumption of buildings, to make possible an upstream management of energy demand to avoid peak consumption, to extend the lifetime of costly equipment by anticipating technical failures and increase the productivity of maintenance operations.

Learn more about Louis VERMORELAged 35, a graduate of ECAM, Louis VERMOREL worked for 13 years in the DANFOSS group, one of the world leaders in climate equipment (heating, ventilation, refrigeration, air conditioning). He successively held positions in manufacturing, R&D, marketing and sales. It has also established a large network in the climate industry around the world. In early 2017, he won a competition to develop a digital solution applied to indoor climate systems. After accelerating his project for 3 months in Berlin in an incubator, he created WATTSENSE. He settled in October 2017 in the “HVAC* Valley” north of Lyon.

As the world transitions gradually to renewables, and the energy storage technologies do not keep up, the flexibility solutions are now scaling thanks to the availability of the required technology bricks and boosted